Funeral Home Practices Veteran Families Need to Know – Direct Cremation
Ashes to Ashes With Dignity and Common Sense
The Funeral Doesn’t Have To Be Financially Painful
After a Veteran suicide, keeping the option of direct cremation in mind is a good idea. Most family members are still reeling from the shock of the suicide. With the effects of trickle-down PTSD on top of the loss, mistakes are easily made when it comes to final wishes that no one ever talked about. If you’re not interested in getting serious sticker shock from a funeral home, consider the direct cremation option. All funeral homes are required by law to tell you about that service. 1-4 won’t, so you need to ask if you want it.
The Veterans Administration supplies the bare minimum after any Veteran passing: a plot in a national cemetery, an in-ground marker and a 30-minute service. That leaves the majority of the costs up to the families. Direct cremation will keep your honor in tact and your financial scars to a minimum.
Direct Cremation – Right Price and Your Right to Know
Costing between $400 – $1,200, this is the most economical and sensible death care option. The process and decisions needed to make are also family-friendly.
- Loved one’s body is picked up by the funeral home
- Death certificate and permits are filed by the funeral home
- Cremation takes place
- Family picks up the ashes in a simple urn
You don’t need to be financially distressed to have a direct cremation. You just have to decide if you want to spend $14,000 for a funeral or not. If money is no object, then the money you save on direct cremation could be spent during the wake, or a lavish remembrance reception with your loved one as the guest of honor. And your protected by the Federal Trade Commission. Direct cremations and their ability to provide one, are your right. The Funeral Consumers Alliance and the Consumer Federation of America released a survey of 142 representative funeral homes showing that more than one-fifth (23%) fail to tell consumers about their options for simple cremations, in violation of the Federal Trade Commission’s “Funeral Rule,” which requires specified price disclosures on a list and verbally. Now you know.
Finding the Best Price
Cremation services offer by your local funeral home could be carried out by a third-party vendor miles and miles away. That’s perfectly fine and legal, and may be unavoidable in most small to mid-sized towns across America. You should Google “funeral home” or “cremation” and find 4-5 numbers to call. They don’t need to be closest to you since you’re going to pick up the remains.
Get the All-Inclusive Price
This is an important phrase and includes the funeral home’s basic service fee, cremation fee, filing all the paperwork and transportation and placing the ashes in an urn for you. This phrase gets included when you cal and ask if they do direct cremations.
ABOUT ONCE A SOLDIER
Our Veterans are killing themselves in record numbers mostly due to PTSD. An overmatched VA can’t take care of them or their families. We will.
Soldier suicide leaves Veteran families with thousands of dollars of bills unpaid, mostly bank loans.
We are the only nonprofit standing with the families after a veteran suicide. Stand with us.
Our Mission: Become the preferred channel for donors, advocates and volunteers who care about veteran families left behind after a soldier suicide.
